‘Christmas Talk Story’ saves best for last

Farewell tours sometimes seem to go on forever, but Eric Johnson, Artistic Director of Honolulu Theatre for Youth, says that HTY's long-running "Christmas Talk Story" series really is going on hiatus after this year's best-of version.

'The Very Best of Christmas Talk Story' Presented by the Honolulu Theatre for Youth Where: Tenney Theatre, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Queen Emma Square When: 7:30 p.m. Friday; and 1:30 and 4:30 Saturdays through Dec. 22 Tickets: $16 adults, $8 children (discounted tickets available for students and seniors) Call: 839-9885 or visit htyweb.org

"What I was getting from (the) writers is 'We've been writing holiday stories for nine years, we'd like to write on something else for a while,'" he said Monday, describing this year's show as "a grand celebration" of the series.

"It's really fun to see some of the stories that people have been asking for. We got a lot of feedback from a lot of people. We asked patrons, we talked among the staff, and we kept a running list of what (stories) had the most (votes). We had to make some hard choices, depending on who our actors were, and how the pieces fit together."

The "Christmas Talk Story" series was created by Johnson's predecessor, Mark Lutwak, and Lutwak's wife, playwright Y York, as an opportunity for playwrights. It included other seasonal stories that included Thanksgiving, Chanukah, New Year's Eve, and even playing with rubber slippers in the summer.

But Johnson adds that this isn't the end of HTY's commitment to working with new local playwrights. He said a new program will be announced soon.